Multi-camera mobile teleconferencing platform

ABSTRACT

A remote controlled robot system that includes a mobile robot and a remote control station. A user can control movement of the robot from the remote control station. The mobile robot includes a camera system that can capture and transmit to the remote station a zoom image and a non-zoom image. The remote control station includes a monitor that displays a robot view field. The robot view field can display the non-zoom image. The zoom image can be displayed in the robot view field by highlighting an area of the non-zoom field. The remote control station may also store camera locations that allow a user to move the camera system to preset locations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field of mobiletwo-way teleconferencing.

2. Background Information

Robots have been used in a variety of applications ranging from remotecontrol of hazardous material to assisting in the performance ofsurgery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,458 issued to Wang et al.discloses a system that allows a surgeon to perform minimally invasivemedical procedures through the use of robotically controlledinstruments. One of the robotic arms in the Wang system moves anendoscope that has a camera. The camera allows a surgeon to view asurgical area of a patient.

Tele-robots such as hazardous waste handlers and bomb detectors maycontain a camera that allows the operator to view the remote site.Canadian Pat. No. 2289697 issued to Treviranus, et al. discloses ateleconferencing platform that has both a camera and a monitor. Theplatform includes mechanisms to both pivot and raise the camera and themonitor. The Treviranus patent also discloses embodiments with a mobileplatform, and different mechanisms to move the camera and the monitor.

There has been marketed a mobile robot introduced by InTouchTechnologies, Inc., the assignee of this application, under thetrademarks COMPANION and RP-6. The InTouch robot is controlled by a userat a remote station. The remote station may be a personal computer witha joystick that allows the user to remotely control the movement of therobot. Both the robot and remote station have cameras, monitors,speakers and microphones to allow for two-way video/audio communication.The robot camera provides video images to a screen at the remote stationso that the user can view the robot's surroundings and move the robotaccordingly.

When moving the robot it is desirable to have a relatively wide viewangle so that the user is provided with an optimal view of the robot'ssurroundings. It is also desirable to provide the robot with a zoom lensfunction so that the user can obtain a closer view of an image. It wouldbe desirable to provide an interface for a remote controlled robotsystem that allows a user to easily switch between zoom and non-zoomimages. It would also be desirable to provide memory functions so thatthe user can return to certain camera positions.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A remote controlled robot system that includes a mobile robot and aremote control station. The mobile robot moves in response to robotcontrol commands transmitted by the remote control station. The remotecontrol station includes a monitor that displays a robot view field. Theremote control station has a graphical user function that allows therobot view field to display either a zoom image or a non-zoom imageprovided by the mobile robot.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a robotic system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic of an electrical system of a robot;

FIG. 3 is a further schematic of the electrical system of the robot;

FIG. 4 is a graphical user interface of a remote station;

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4 showing a portion of a non-zoom imagehighlighted;

FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 4 showing a zoom image being displayed by arobot view field;

FIG. 7 is similar to FIG. 4 showing a message that indicates a cameraposition has been stored.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed is a remote controlled robot system that includes a mobilerobot and a remote control station. A user can control movement of therobot from the remote control station. The mobile robot includes acamera system that can capture and transmit to the remote station a zoomimage and a non-zoom image. The remote control station includes amonitor that displays a robot view field. The robot view field candisplay the non-zoom image. The zoom image can be displayed in the robotview field by highlighting an area of the non-zoom field. The remotecontrol station may also store camera positions that allow a user tomove the camera system to preset positions.

Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers, FIG. 1shows a robotic system 10 that can be used to conduct a remote visit.The robotic system 10 includes a robot 12, a base station 14 and aremote control station 16. The remote control station 16 may be coupledto the base station 14 through a network 18. By way of example, thenetwork 18 may be either a packet switched network such as the Internet,or a circuit switched network such has a Public Switched TelephoneNetwork (PSTN) or other broadband system. The base station 14 may becoupled to the network 18 by a modem 20 or other broadband networkinterface device. By way of example, the base station 14 may be awireless router. Alternatively, the robot 12 may have a directconnection to the network thru for example a satellite.

The remote control station 16 may include a computer 22 that has amonitor 24, a camera 26, a microphone 28 and a speaker 30. The computer22 may also contain an input device 32 such as a joystick and/or a mouseand a keyboard 33. The control station 16 is typically located in aplace that is remote from the robot 12. Although only one remote controlstation 16 is shown, the system 10 may include a plurality of remotestations. In general any number of robots 12 may be controlled by anynumber of remote stations 16 or other robots 12. For example, one remotestation 16 may be coupled to a plurality of robots 12, or one robot 12may be coupled to a plurality of remote stations 16, or a plurality ofrobots 12.

Each robot 12 includes a movement platform 34 that is attached to arobot housing 36. Also attached to the robot housing 36 is a pair ofcameras 38 and 39, a monitor 40, a microphone(s) 42 and a speaker(s) 44.The microphone 42 and speaker 30 may create a stereophonic sound. Therobot 12 may also have an antenna 46 that is wirelessly coupled to anantenna 48 of the base station 14. The system 10 allows a user at theremote control station 16 to move the robot 12 through operation of theinput device 32. The robot cameras 38 and 39 are coupled to the remotemonitor 24 so that a user at the remote station 16 can view a patient.Likewise, the robot monitor 40 is coupled to, the remote camera 26 sothat the patient can view the user. The microphones 28 and 42, andspeakers 30 and 44, allow for audible communication between the patientand the user.

Camera 38 may provide a wide angle view. Conversely, camera 39 maycontain a zoom lens to provide a narrow angle view. Camera 39 cancapture a zoom image that is transmitted to the remote control station.Camera 38 can capture a non-zoom image that can be transmitted to theremote control station. Although two cameras are shown and described, itis to be understood that the robot may contain only one camera that hasthe capability to provide a zoom image and a non-zoom image.

The remote station computer 22 may operate Microsoft OS software andWINDOWS XP or other operating systems such as LINUX. The remote computer22 may also operate a video driver, a camera driver, an audio driver anda joystick driver. The video images may be transmitted and received withcompression software such as MPEG CODEC.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of a robot 12. Each robot 12 mayinclude a high level control system 50 and a low level control system52. The high level control system 50 may include a processor 54 that isconnected to a bus 56. The bus 56 is coupled to the cameras 38 and 39 byan input/output (I/O) ports 58 and 59, respectively. The monitor 40 iscoupled to the bus 56 by a serial output port 60 and a VGA driver 62.The monitor 40 may include a touchscreen function that allows thepatient to enter input by touching the monitor screen.

The speaker 44 is coupled to the bus 56 by a digital to analog converter64. The microphone 42 is coupled to the bus 56 by an analog to digitalconverter 66. The high level controller 50 may also contain randomaccess memory (RAM) device 68, a non-volatile RAM device 70 and a massstorage device 72 that are all coupled to the bus 62. The mass storagedevice 72 may contain medical files of the patient that can be accessedby the user at the remote control station 16. For example, the massstorage device 72 may contain a picture of the patient. The user,particularly a health care provider, can recall the old picture and makea side by side comparison on the monitor 24 with a present video imageof the patient provided by the camera 38. The robot antennae 45 may becoupled to a wireless transceiver 74. By way of example, the transceiver74 may transmit and receive information in accordance with IEEE 802.11b.

The controller 54 may operate with a LINUX OS operating system. Thecontroller 54 may also operate MS WINDOWS along with video, camera andaudio drivers for communication with the remote control station 16.Video information may be transceived using MPEG CODEC compressiontechniques. The software may allow the user to send e-mail to thepatient and vice versa, or allow the patient to access the Internet. Ingeneral the high level controller 50 operates to control communicationbetween the robot 12 and the remote control station 16.

The remote control station 16 may include a computer that is similar tothe high level controller 50. The computer would have a processor,memory, I/O, software, firmware, etc. for generating, transmitting,receiving and processing information.

The high level controller 50 may be linked to the low level controller52 by serial ports 76 and 78. The low level controller 52 includes aprocessor 80 that is coupled to a RAM device 82 and non-volatile RAMdevice 84 by a bus 86. Each robot 12 contains a plurality of motors 88and motor encoders 90. The motors 88 can actuate the movement platformand move other parts of the robot such as the monitor and camera. Theencoders 90 provide feedback information regarding the output of themotors 88. The motors 88 can be coupled to the bus 86 by a digital toanalog converter 92 and a driver amplifier 94. The encoders 90 can becoupled to the bus 86 by a decoder 96. Each robot 12 also has a numberof proximity sensors 98 (see also FIG. 1). The position sensors 98 canbe coupled to the bus 86 by a signal conditioning circuit 100 and ananalog to digital converter 102.

The low level controller 52 runs software routines that mechanicallyactuate the robot 12. For example, the low level controller 52 providesinstructions to actuate the movement platform to move the robot 12. Thelow level controller 52 may receive movement instructions from the highlevel controller 50. The movement instructions may be received asmovement commands from the remote control station or another robot.Although two controllers are shown, it is to be understood that eachrobot 12 may have one controller, or more than two controllers,controlling the high and low level functions.

The various electrical devices of each robot 12 may be powered by abattery(ies) 104. The battery 104 may be recharged by a batteryrecharger station 106 (see also FIG. 1). The low level controller 52 mayinclude a battery control circuit 108 that senses the power level of thebattery 104. The low level controller 52 can sense when the power fallsbelow a threshold and then send a message to the high level controller50.

The system may be the same or similar to a robotic system provided bythe assignee InTouch-Health, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. under thename RP-6. The system may also be the same or similar to the systemdisclosed in application Ser. No. 10/206,457 published on Jan. 29, 2004,which is hereby incorporated by reference.

FIG. 4 shows a display user interface (“DUI”) 120 that can be displayedat the remote station 16. The DUI 120 may include a robot view field 122that displays a video image provided by the camera of the robot. The DUI120 may also include a station view field 124 that displays a videoimage provided by the camera of the remote station 16. The DUI 120 maybe part of an application program stored and operated by the computer 22of the remote station 16.

The robot view field 122 may display a non-zoom image provided by thecamera system of the robot. As shown by FIGS. 5 and 6, the user canhighlight a portion of the non-zoom image to display a zoom image thatcorresponds to the highlighted area 126. By way of example, thehighlighted area 126 can be initiated by left-clicking a mouse. The usercan then drag the cursor 128, while holding down the left-click, tocreate the highlighted area 126. When the user releases the left-click,the remote station transmits commands to move the robot camera to pointat the center of the highlighted area 126 and provide the zoom imagecorresponding to the area. Alternatively, the user can click on themouse and a zoom area centered about the cursor will be displayed. Theuser can switch back to the non-zoom image by manipulating graphicalicon 128 to move the slide bar to a far left position. This featureallows a user to readily switch between zoom and non-zoom imagesprovided by the robot camera system. Thus a user can utilize thenon-zoom image while moving the robot, and the zoom image feature totake a closer look at people or objects in the field of view.

The remote control station can store camera positions so that the usercan readily go to a desired camera position. By way of example, a cameralocation can be stored by depressing a key on the keyboard. The F4 keymay be depressed to store a camera position. As shown in FIG. 7 a visualindication 130 may be displayed to indicate to the user that the cameraposition has been stored. Subsequently pressing the key will cause theremote station to transmit a command(s) to move the robot camera systemto the desired position. Other keys such as F5 through F12 can be usedto create 9 potential stored camera locations. A new camera position canbe stored by pressing and holding down one of the keys F4-F12.

The mouse 32 can be used to move the cameras of the robot. Movement ofthe mouse 32 may cause a corresponding movement of the cameras. Thescale between the mouse and the camera movements may be varied by theuser. Movement of the mouse may also cause the system to display zoomand non-zoom images.

In operation, the robot 12 may be placed in a home or a facility whereone or more patients are to be monitored and/or assisted. The facilitymay be a hospital or a residential care facility. By way of example, therobot 12 may be placed in a home where a health care provider maymonitor and/or assist the patient. Likewise, a friend or family membermay communicate with the patient. The cameras and monitors at both therobot and remote control stations allow for teleconferencing between thepatient and the person at the remote station(s).

The robot 12 can be maneuvered through the home or a facility bymanipulating the input device 32 at a remote station 16. The robot 10may be controlled by a number of different users. To accommodate forthis the robot may have an arbitration system. The arbitration systemmay be integrated into the operating system of the robot 12. Forexample, the arbitration technique may be embedded into the operatingsystem of the high-level controller 50.

By way of example, the users may be divided into classes that includethe robot itself, a local user, a caregiver, a doctor, a family member,or a service provider. The robot 12 may override input commands thatconflict with robot operation. For example, if the robot runs into awall, the system may ignore all additional commands to continue in thedirection of the wall. A local user is a person who is physicallypresent with the robot. The robot could have an input device that allowslocal operation. For example, the robot may incorporate a voicerecognition system that receives and interprets audible commands.

A caregiver is someone who remotely monitors the patient. A doctor is amedical professional who can remotely control the robot and also accessmedical files contained in the robot memory. The family and serviceusers remotely access the robot. The service user may service the systemsuch as by upgrading software, or setting operational parameters.

The robot 12 may operate in one of two different modes; an exclusivemode, or a sharing mode. In the exclusive mode only one user has accesscontrol of the robot. The exclusive mode may have a priority assigned toeach type of user. By way of example, the priority may be in order oflocal, doctor, caregiver, family and then service user. In the sharingmode two or more users may share access with the robot. For example, acaregiver may have access to the robot, the caregiver may then enter thesharing mode to allow a doctor to also access the robot. Both thecaregiver and the doctor can conduct a simultaneous tele-conference withthe patient.

The arbitration scheme may have one of four mechanisms; notification,timeouts, queue and call back. The notification mechanism may informeither a present user or a requesting user that another user has, orwants, access to the robot. The timeout mechanism gives certain types ofusers a prescribed amount of time to finish access to the robot. Thequeue mechanism is an orderly waiting list for access to the robot. Thecall back mechanism informs a user that the robot can be accessed. Byway of example, a family user may receive an e-mail message that therobot is free for usage. Tables I and II, show how the mechanismsresolve access request from the various users.

TABLE I Access Medical Command Software/Debug Set User Control RecordOverride Access Priority Robot No No Yes (1) No No Local No No Yes (2)No No Caregiver Yes Yes Yes (3) No No Doctor No Yes No No No Family NoNo No No No Service Yes No Yes Yes Yes

TABLE II Requesting User Local Caregiver Doctor Family Service CurrentLocal Not Allowed Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn currentuser of Warn current user of User pending user pending user pending userpending user Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notify requestinguser Notify requesting user that system is in that system is in use thatsystem is in use user that system is in use Set timeout = 5 m Settimeout = 5 m use Set timeout Call back No timeout Call back CaregiverWarn current user Not Allowed Warn current user of Warn current user ofWarn current user of of pending user. pending user pending user pendinguser Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notify requesting userNotify requesting user that system is that system is in use that systemis in use user that system is in in use. Set timeout = 5 m Set timeout =5 m use Release control Queue or callback No timeout Callback DoctorWarn current user Warn current user of Warn current user of Notifyrequesting user Warn current user of of pending user pending userpending user that system is in use pending user Notify requesting Notifyrequesting Notify requesting user No timeout Notify requesting user thatsystem is user that system is in that system is in use Queue or callbackuser that system is in in use use No timeout use Release control Settimeout = 5 m Callback No timeout Callback Family Warn current userNotify requesting Warn current user of Warn current user of Warn currentuser of of pending user user that system is in pending user pending userpending user Notify requesting use Notify requesting user Notifyrequesting user Notify requesting user that system is No timeout thatsystem is in use that system is in use user that system is in in use Putin queue or Set timeout = 1 m Set timeout = 5 m use Release Controlcallback Queue or callback No timeout Callback Service Warn current userNotify requesting Warn current user of Warn current user of Not Allowedof pending user user that system is in request pending user Notifyrequesting use Notify requesting user Notify requesting user user thatsystem is No timeout that system is in use that system is in use in useCallback No timeout No timeout No timeout Callback Queue or callback

The information transmitted between the station 16 and the robot 12 maybe encrypted. Additionally, the user may have to enter a password toenter the system 10. A selected robot is then given an electronic key bythe station 16. The robot 12 validates the key and returns another keyto the station 16. The keys are used to encrypt information transmittedin the session.

The robot 12 and remote station 16 transmit commands through thebroadband network 18. The commands can be generated by the user in avariety of ways. For example, commands to move the robot may begenerated by moving the joystick 32 (see FIG. 1). The commands arepreferably assembled into packets in accordance with TCP/IP protocol.Table III provides a list of control commands that are generated at theremote station and transmitted to the robot through the network.

TABLE III Control Commands Command Example Description drive drive 10.00.0 5.0 The drive command directs the robot to move at the specifiedvelocity (in cm/sec) in the (x, y) plane, and turn its facing at thespecified rate (degrees/sec). goodbye goodbye The goodbye commandterminates a user session and relinquishes control of the robotgotoHomePosition gotoHomePosition 1 The gotoHomePosition command movesthe head to a fixed “home” position (pan and tilt), and restores zoom todefault value. The index value can be 0, 1, or 2. The exact pan/tiltvalues for each index are specified in robot configuration files. headhead vel pan 5.0 tilt The head command controls the head motion. 10.0 Itcan send commands in two modes, identified by keyword: either positional(“pos”) or velocity (“vol”). In velocity mode, the pan and tilt valuesare desired velocities of the head on the pan and tilt axes, indegree/sec. A single command can include just the pan section, or justthe tilt section, or both. keepalive keepalive The keepalive commandcauses no action, but keeps the communication (socket) link open so thata session can continue. In scripts, it can be used to introduce delaytime into the action. odometry odometry 5 The odometry command enablesthe flow of odometry messages from the robot. The argument is the numberof times odometry is to be reported each second. A value of 0 turnsodometry off. reboot reboot The reboot command causes the robot computerto reboot immediately. The ongoing session is immediately broken off.restoreHeadPosition restoreHeadPosition The restoreHeadPositionfunctions like the gotoHomePosition command, but it homes the head to aposition previously saved with gotoHomePosition. saveHeadPositionsaveHeadPosition The saveHeadPosition command causes the robot to savethe current head position (pan and tilt) in a scratch location intemporary storage so that this position can be restored. Subsequentcalls to “restoreHeadPosition” will restore this saved position. Eachcall to saveHeadPosition overwrites any previously saved position.setCameraFocus setCameraFocus 100.0 The setCameraFocus command controlsfocus for the camera on the robot side. The value sent is passed “raw”to the video application running on the robot, which interprets itaccording to its own specification. setCameraZoom setCameraZoom 100.0The setCameraZoom command controls zoom for the camera on the robotside. The value sent is passed “raw” to the video application running onthe robot, which interprets it according to its own specification.shutdown Shutdown The shutdown command shuts down the robot and powersdown its computer. stop stop The stop command directs the robot to stopmoving immediately. It is assumed this will be as sudden a stop as themechanism can safely accommodate. timing Timing 3245629 500 The timingmessage is used to estimate message latency. It holds the UCT value(seconds + milliseconds) of the time the message was sent, as recordedon the sending machine. To do a valid test, you must compare results ineach direction (i.e., sending from machine A to machine B, then frommachine B to machine A) in order to account for differences in theclocks between the two machines. The robot records data internally toestimate average and maximum latency over the course of a session, whichit prints to log files. userTask userTask “Jane Doe” The userTaskcommand notifies the robot of “Remote Visit” the current user and task.It typically is sent once at the start of the session, although it canbe sent during a session if the user and/or task change. The robot usesthis information for record-keeping.

Table IV provides a list of reporting commands that are generated by therobot and transmitted to the remote station through the network.

TABLE IV Reporting Commands Command Example Description abnormalExitabnormalExit This message informs the user that the robot software hascrashed or otherwise exited abnormally. Te robot software catches top-level exceptions and generates this message if any such exceptionsoccur. bodyType bodyType 3 The bodyType message informs the stationwhich type body (using the numbering of the mechanical team) the currentrobot has. This allows the robot to be drawn correctly in the stationuser interface, and allows for any other necessary body-specificadjustments. driveEnabled driveEnabled true This message is sent at thestart of a session to indicate whether the drive system is operational.emergencyShutdown emergencyShutdown This message informs the stationthat the robot software has detected a possible “runaway” condition (anfailure causing the robot to move out of control) and is shutting theentire system down to prevent hazardous motion. odometry odometry 10 20340 The odometry command reports the current (x, y) position (cm) andbody orientation (degrees) of the robot, in the original coordinatespace of the robot at the start of the session. sensorGroup group_dataSensors on the robot are arranged into groups, each group of a singletype (bumps, range sensors, charge meter, etc.) The sensorGroup messageis sent once per group at the start of each session. It contains thenumber, type, locations, and any other relevant data for the sensors inthat group. The station assumes nothing about the equipment carried onthe robot; everything it knows about the sensors comes from thesensorGroup messages. sensorState groupName state data The sensorStatecommand reports the current state values for a specified group ofsensor. The syntax and interpretation for the state data is specific toeach group. This message is sent once for each group at each sensorevaluation (normally several times per second). systemError systemErrorThis message informs the station user of a driveController failure inone of the robot's subsystems. The error_type argument indicates whichsubsystem failed, including driveController, sensorController, headHome.systemInfo systemInfo wireless 45 This message allows regular reportingof information that falls outside the sensor system such as wirelesssignal strength. text text “This is some The text string sends a textstring from the text” robot to the station, where the string isdisplayed to the user. This message is used mainly for debugging.version version 1.6 This message identifies the software versioncurrently running on the robot. It is sent once at the start of thesession to allow the station to do any necessary backward compatibilityadjustments.

The processor 54 of the robot high level controller 50 may operate aprogram that determines whether the robot 12 has received a robotcontrol command within a time interval. For example, if the robot 12does not receive a control command within 2 seconds then the processor54 provides instructions to the low level controller 50 to stop therobot 12. Although a software embodiment is described, it is to beunderstood that the control command monitoring feature could beimplemented with hardware, or a combination of hardware and software.The hardware may include a timer that is reset each time a controlcommand is received and generates, or terminates, a command or signal,to stop the robot.

The remote station computer 22 may monitor the receipt of video imagesprovided by the robot camera. The computer 22 may generate and transmita STOP command to the robot if the remote station does not receive ortransmit an updated video image within a time interval. The STOP commandcauses the robot to stop. By way of example, the computer 22 maygenerate a STOP command if the remote control station does not receive anew video image within 2 seconds. Although a software embodiment isdescribed, it is to be understood that the video image monitoringfeature could be implemented with hardware, or a combination of hardwareand software. The hardware may include a timer that is reset each time anew video image is received and generates, or terminates, a command orsignal, to generate the robot STOP command.

While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in theaccompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments aremerely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, andthat this invention not be limited to the specific constructions andarrangements shown and described, since various other modifications mayoccur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A teleconferencing system, comprising: ateleconferencing device including a housing that supports a monitor anda camera system that includes a first camera and a second camera mountedto the housing such that the first camera and the second camera facesubstantially the same direction, the first camera having a first fieldof view and the second camera having a second field of view that isdifferent from the first field of view; and, a remote station thatincludes a camera, a monitor, and a graphical user interface functionthat provides a zoom input, the remote station monitor displays adisplay user interface including a local view field that displays animage captured by the remote station camera and a remote view field thatdisplays either the image captured by the first camera or the imagecaptured by the second camera, wherein the display user interfaceswitches the remote view field to display either the image captured bythe first camera or the image captured by the second camera depending onthe zoom input, the remote station monitor displaying only one of theimages from the first or second cameras at a time, and wherein themonitor of the teleconferencing device displays the image captured bythe remote station camera.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein saidgraphical user interface function includes specifying a highlighted areawithin the displayed image.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein specifyingthe highlighted area is initiated by depressing a mouse.
 4. The systemof claim 1, wherein said graphical user interface function includes aslide bar.
 5. The system of claim 2, wherein said camera system moves toa center of said highlighted area.
 6. The system of claim 1, whereinsaid remote station includes at least one stored camera position.
 7. Thesystem of claim 6, wherein said remote station includes a keyboard andsaid stored camera position is stored by depressing a key on saidkeyboard.
 8. The system of claim 7, wherein said camera system moves inresponse to said stored camera position in response to said key beingdepressed.
 9. The system of claim 6, wherein said station monitordisplays an indication that said stored camera position has been stored.10. A method for a teleconferencing system including a teleconferencingdevice that has a housing that supports a monitor and a camera systemincluding a first camera and a second camera mounted to the housing suchthat the first camera and the second camera face substantially the samedirection, the first camera having a first field of view and the secondcamera having a second field of view that is different from the firstfield of view, the method comprising: displaying an image captured by acamera of a remote station in a local view field of a display userinterface displayed on a monitor of the remote station; displaying animage captured by the first camera in a remote view field of the displayuser interface displayed on the remote station monitor; switching theremote view field to display an image captured by the second camera inplace of the image captured by the first camera in response to a zoominput provided by a user via a graphical user interface function,wherein the remote station monitor displays only one of the images fromthe first camera or the second camera at a time; and, displaying theimage captured by the remote station camera on the monitor of theteleconferencing device.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the imagecaptured by the second camera corresponds to an area specified byhighlighting an area within the image captured by the first camera. 12.The method of claim 10, wherein the step of switching the remote viewfield is responsive to user input received from a mouse.